Media item selection

ABSTRACT

Creating a playlist of media items for a desired perceiving experience requires many actions for searching and selecting media items that fit the desired perceiving experience. The invention provides an alternative for creating a perceiving experience without the use of a playlist. To this end, the invention provides a method ( 1 ) for selecting a media item from a plurality of media items, each of the plurality of media items being linked to at least one out of a plurality of content related attribute-value pairs, the method ( 1 ) comprising the steps of defining ( 10 ) for at least one attribute of said plurality of attribute-value pairs at least two desired probabilities of selecting a media item having a predetermined value for said at least one attribute, resulting in a desired probability distribution ( 22 ) of at least two predetermined values for which a desired probability has been defined, selecting ( 14 ) an actual value from said at least two predetermined values in accordance with said desired probability distribution ( 22 ), and selecting ( 16 ) one of said plurality of media items having an attribute-value pair corresponding to said actual value and the attribute linked to said actual value. The invention further provides a system ( 1 ) and a media player ( 5 ) for selecting a media item.

The invention relates to selecting a media item from a plurality ofmedia items. The invention further relates to a media player.

In a media player, for example in an MP3-player, a playlist is oftencreated by a user in order to create a perceiving experience which fitsa certain situation. For example, the playlist may be a plurality ofmedia items that fit a party, a romantic evening, or jogging. From theplurality of media items, the media player selects a media item whichselection may be a random selection. In US patent application US2002/0045960 A1, a media player is presented which implements a methodfor creating a playlist or alternating an existing playlist. Thepresented media player plays audio tracks, which audio tracks areassociated with one or more metatags that are used to describe thecontent of each track. Examples of metatags are the artist's name, songtitle, album title, and date. When creating a new playlist, the user mayselect a metatag. The media player then creates a playlist by adding allsongs to the playlist that correspond to the selected metatag, forexample all songs from a selected artist. Alternatively, the user maycreate a playlist by selecting a plurality of songs from the songshaving a metatag which corresponds to the selected metatag.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a selection of amedia item from a plurality of media items in an advantageous manner. Tothis end, the invention provides a method, a system and a media playeras specified in the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments aredefined in the dependent claims.

When a user of a media player like an MP3 player or a Compact Discplayer wishes to create a perceiving experience that fits a certainsituation, he needs to create a playlist suitable for the occasion. Thecreation of such a playlist requires many actions for searching andselecting media items that fit the intended situation. Furthermore, thecreation of a suitable playlist requires knowledge of the user about hisavailable collection of media items. For example when the media itemsare music songs the user needs to have musical knowledge about theavailable collection of music songs like for example style, artist, yearof release etc. Furthermore, every new situation or new mood requirescreating a new playlist. A playlist therefore does not provide aflexible solution for creating a desired perceiving experience. It willbe advantageous to select media items for creating a desired perceivingexperience without the need of creating a playlist. According to anaspect of the invention, a method for selecting a media item from aplurality of media items is provided, each of the plurality of mediaitems being linked to at least one out of a plurality of content relatedattribute-value pairs, the method comprising the steps of defining forat least one attribute of said plurality of attribute-value pairs atleast two desired probabilities of selecting a media item having apredetermined value for said at least one attribute, resulting in adesired probability distribution of at least two predetermined valuesfor which a desired probability has been defined, selecting an actualvalue from said at least two predetermined values in accordance withsaid desired probability distribution, and selecting one of saidplurality of media items having an attribute-value pair corresponding tosaid actual value and the attribute linked to said actual value. Each ofthe plurality of media items are linked to at least one out of aplurality of attribute-value pairs. For example, the media items may bemusic songs, which music songs can be linked to for example at least oneof the attributes artist, style, genre, tempo, tempo-range, instrumentsused, popularity, number of times played, time of release, release year,and release decade. For a media item, the attributes are linked tovalues, for example, a music song can have a value Rap for the attributeStyle, and a value Fast for the attribute Tempo. The invention is basedon the insight that a perceiving experience can be created without theneed of creating a playlist by defining a desired probabilitydistribution of at least two predetermined values. In a relatively easymanner, the user may define a desired perceiving experience by selectingat least one attribute and defining at least two desired probabilitiesof selecting a media item having a predetermined value for the at leastone attribute. For example, a listener to music may define a desiredprobability distribution of 20 percent Rap, 30 percent Dance and 50percent Jazz. In this case the values are all linked to the sameattribute Style, but it is also possible to define a probabilitydistribution of predetermined values, wherein the predetermined valuesare linked to a plurality of attributes. For example a listener maydefine a probability distribution of 20 percent Jamiroquai, 30 percentDance and 50 percent Jazz. The value Jamiroquai is linked to theattribute Artist and the other values are linked to the attribute Style.Furthermore, it is also possible to define a probability for remainingattribute-value pairs. In that case, the value can be all values exceptthe at least two predetermined values for which a desired probability ofselecting has been defined, which values are linked to the attributeRemaining. It may also be possible to define a plurality of desiredprobability distributions of at least two predetermined values, whichdesired probability distributions are combined to result in a desiredperceiving experience. According to an embodiment of the invention, itmay be possible to define a first desired probability distributiondefined for a starting moment in time and at least one further desiredprobability distribution defined for a later moment in time, which firstdesired probability distribution is adapted over time in accordance withat least one of the at least one further desired probabilitydistribution defined for a later moment in time to obtain an adapteddesired probability distribution. The selection of a media item isperformed by using the adapted desired probability distribution. Byadapting the first probability distribution over time, a changingperceiving experience may be obtained over time. For example, when themusic items are songs, the perceiving experience may be a loud musicexperience at the start of an evening and a romantic music experience atthe end of the evening. According to a further embodiment of theinvention, at least two desired probability distributions are combinedinto a combined desired probability distribution, which combined desiredprobability distribution is used for selecting a media item. Forexample, two users may each have defined a desired probabilitydistribution, which desired probability distributions may be differentfrom each other. When the users are in the same environment with asingle media player for both users, it will be advantageous to combinethe two desired probability distributions into a single combined desiredprobability distribution, which single combined desired probabilitydistribution may be a compromise for both users regarding their desiredperceiving experience. The desired probability distributions may becombined by taking an average of probabilities, or adding/deletingpredetermined values in dependence on the defined predetermined valuesand their defined probabilities. It is noted that it may be needed tosend information about a desired probability distribution of one user toanother user, or to a basis station for combining the desiredprobability distributions.

When a desired probability distribution of at least two predeterminedvalues is defined, an actual value is selected in accordance with thedesired probability distribution of the at least two predeterminedvalues. The actual value and the attribute linked to the actual valueare used to select a media item having a corresponding attribute-valuepair. When there are a plurality of media items having a correspondingattribute-value pair, a random selection or another type of selectionfrom these media items may be performed. In the examples discussed next,a media player is introduced for playing music songs like MP3 files, butthe invention may also be used in other media players, such as videoplayers or digital photo viewers or even radio stations, televisionstations, Internet services and the like.

In an embodiment of the invention, the desired probability distributionof predetermined values is defined by defining a pie-chart having atleast two pie-parts corresponding to the at least two predeterminedvalues, the pie-parts having proportions in dependence on the at leasttwo desired probabilities. The pie-chart can be defined by a user in arelatively easy way. Moreover, the desired perceiving experience may bevisually made clear in a relatively easy, user-friendly manner.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the pie-chart is used tovisualize the selection procedure to a user by spinning the pie-chart,slowing down the pie-chart until the pie-chart stops at a randomposition, and selecting the actual value corresponding to a pie-part ofthe pie-chart in dependence on the position where the pie-chart stopped.This method of visualizing may be compared to the visualization of awheel of fortune and provides a user-friendly, interactive manner ofvisualizing the selection procedure. In order to achieve moreinteractivity with a user, it may be possible for the user to select themoment in time when the spinning pie-chart starts slowing down. Or theuser may adjust the speed of slowing down the pie-chart, for example byapplying a brake to the spinning pie-chart or adjusting the rollingresistance. Also, the user may apply a hold to a pie-chart in order usethe previous selected actual value when selecting the next media item.

The aforementioned and other aspects of the invention will be apparentfrom and elucidated with reference to the embodiments describedhereinafter.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram representing a method for selecting a mediaitem from a plurality of media items according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2 shows a user interface according an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a user interface according to a further embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 shows a user interface according an even further embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 5 shows a media player according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram 1 representing a method for selecting amedia item from a plurality of media items according to an embodiment ofthe invention. Each of the media items are linked to content relatedattribute-value pairs. Examples of attribute-value pairs for a mediaitem such as a music song are the attribute Artist linked to an artist'sname as a value like Jamiroquai and the attribute Style linked to amusic style as a value like Pop. Examples of attribute-value pairs inthe case that a media item is a movie or a part of a movie, are theattribute Actor linked to an actor's name as a value like AnthonyHopkins and the attribute Genre linked to a movie genre as a value likeThriller. Examples of attribute-value pairs in the case that a mediaitem is a picture is the attribute Date linked to a date as a value whenthe picture was taken like Jan. 30, 2003 and the attribute DominantColor linked to a dominant color in the picture as a value like Green.The attribute-value pairs may be defined by a user or may be availablefrom other sources like the Internet, for example from the Internetservices like CDDB and FreeDB today. In order to avoid unnecessarydetails in the description, the plurality of media items will be musicsongs in the following examples. It will be clear to a person skilled inthe art that the same examples may hold for other media items such asmovies, parts of movies, video clips, or digital pictures. In step 10 ofthe block diagram 1 a desired probability distribution of predeterminedvalues is defined. The desired probability distribution of predeterminedvalues may be loaded from a set of stored desired probabilitydistributions, which desired probability distributions may be stored bya user or may be available from another source like the Internet. Also,it may be possible that a stored desired probability distribution can beadapted by a user later on. FIG. 2 shows a user interface 2 according toan embodiment of the invention. The user interface 2 may be used todefine a desired probability distribution of predetermined values. Theuser interface 2 comprises a table 20 for representing attribute-valuepairs to the user. The table 20 comprises at least one attribute A, forexample the attribute Style. The table 20 further comprises at least twovalues V linked to the at least one attribute A. Examples of values forthe attribute Style are music styles like Rap, Dance, R&B, Pop, Rocketc. Also, the value Other can be an option for all remaining musicstyles that are not selected. The user may select a value from thevalues V and the selected values, i.e. values V₁, V₂ and V₃ are placedin a pie-chart 22. The values V₁, V₂, V₃ may be for example Rap, Danceand R&B, which values are all linked to the same attribute Style, whichis not necessarily the case. The pie-chart 22 comprises for each of theselected values a pie-part V₁, V₂, V₃ which will have proportions, whichproportions may be initially equal to each other. In this case thevalues V₁, V₂, V₃ will each have a proportion of approximately 33%. Theproportions of the pie-parts V₁, V₂, V₃ may be changed by the user independence on the desired probabilities of selecting a media item havinga value corresponding to V₁, V₂, and V₃ respectively. For example, theuser may define that he likes to hear 30% Rap songs, 60% Dance songs and10% R&B songs, which corresponds to pie-proportions 30%, 60%, and 10%for respectively V₁, V₂, and V₃ as shown in FIG. 2. It may also bepossible to display these percentages in the corresponding pies. Theuser may change the proportions by selecting a pie-part by means of forexample a mouse pointer and move the mouse pointer towards the center ofthe pie-chart to decrease or move the mouse pointer away from the centerto increase the proportion of the selected pie-part. When changing theproportion of a pie-part, it will be advantageous to maintain the ratioof proportions of other pie-parts. For example, when the user changesthe 60% proportion of V₂, the 3 to 1 ratio of V₁ and V₃ should bemaintained. Defining of the proportions in step 10 results in a desiredprobability distribution of predetermined values, in this example ofpredetermined values V₁, V₂, and V₃.

In step 12 it is decided if a new media item needs to be selected. Thismay happen when the user indicates by a user input that he likes to heara next song, or when the previous song has stopped playing, or when thesong has come nearly to its end, or after a predetermined time, or whenreceiving a remote signal. If this is the case (Y), in step 14, anactual value V_(a) is selected from the predetermined values inaccordance with the desired probability distribution of thepredetermined values as defined in step 10. In the case of the example,there is a probability of 10% that V_(a) will be V₁, 60% that V_(a) willbe V₂, and 30% that V_(a) will be V₃ when a new media item needs to beselected (Y). The selection procedure can be visualized to the user bymeans of the user interface 2 shown in FIG. 2. When a new media itemneeds to be selected (Y), the pie-chart 22 can spin at a random speedfor example in the direction of arrow 24. The pie-chart then slows downuntil it stops, comparable with a wheel of fortune. A cursor 26 pointsto a pie-part of the stopped pie-chart, which predetermined value of thepie-part is selected as the actual value V_(a), for example V_(a)=V₃(Rap) as indicated in FIG. 2. As the pie-chart spins at a random speedand/or slows down in a random time-period, the proportions of thepie-parts correspond to the desired probabilities of selecting apredetermined value like in the case of a wheel of fortune. As anoption, it may be possible for a user to indicate the speed at which thespinning pie-chart slows down. The user may also adapt the moment intime the spinning pie-chart slows down. Optionally, the user may alsohold the pie-chart at its current position, for example by applying ahold button. In that case, no new actual value but the current actualvalue is used for the further selection procedure. The actual valueV_(a) is used in step 16, wherein a media item is selected having anattribute-value pair corresponding to the actual value V_(a) and theattribute linked to the actual value V_(a). In this case the actualvalue V_(a) is the value Rap which is linked to the attribute Style.When in the collection of media items that is available for selection,there are more than one media items that correspond to the selectedattribute-value pair a further selection need to be performed. Thisfurther selection may be a random selection or another type of selectionknown in the art. The random selection may be constrained by parameterslike a parameter if a song has already been played or a parameter if asong has already been played in predetermined elapsed time period. Afterthe selection procedure in step 16, it is again decided in step 12 if anew media item needs to be selected.

FIG. 3 shows a further user interface 3 according to an embodiment ofthe invention. The user interface 3 comprises the user interface 2, buta further pie-chart 36 is added. Also in the further pie-chart a desiredprobability distribution of predetermined values for differentattributes may be defined in an equal way to defining pie-chart 22. Inthis case, pie-chart 32 comprises the predetermined values V₄ and V₅,which may be the values Slow and Fast respectively linked to theattribute Tempo. The attributes A and possible predetermined values Vmay be selected from the table 20. When selecting a media item, bothpie-charts spin like a wheel of fortune in the directions of arrows 24and 34 respectively and stop. In this case two predetermined values V₃and V₅ are pointed to by cursors 26 and 36 respectively, the twopredetermined values V₃ and V₅ being linked to the different attributesStyle and Tempo respectively. The attributes need to be different inorder to avoid a conflicting situation like selecting both the valuesSlow and Fast for the same attribute Tempo. Next, the two selectedattribute-value pairs are both used when selecting a media item. Forexample, a media item is selected when it comprises both selectedattribute-value pairs. So, in this case, a song is selected whichcomprises a value Fast for attribute Tempo and a value Rap for attributeStyle. It is also possible to use different desired probabilitydistributions over time. For example, desired probability distribution22 may be taken as a starting point and desired probability distribution32 as an ending point of a predetermined time period for playing mediaitems. In this case, it is not necessary that the desired probabilitydistributions are defined for different attributes. When selecting amedia item, for example only desired probability distribution 22 isused, which desired probability distribution 22 is graduallytransforming into the desired probability distribution 32. Thistransformation may be visualized by morphing pie-chart 22 into pie-chart32 over a predetermined time-period. In stead of using two probabilitydistributions, it is also possible to use more than two probabilitydistributions. The transforming of a probability distribution may beperformed by adding or deleting predetermined values or by adapting adesired probability of a predetermined value during time. When at leasttwo desired probability distributions are defined, it is also possibleto combine the at least two probability distributions into a combineddesired probability distribution. For example in the case that two usershave defined perceiving experiences by defining two desired probabilitydistributions, which two desired probability distributions may bedifferent from each other. When the two users have to listen to musicfor example in the same room by the same media player, the two desiredprobability distributions may be combined with each other in order toobtain a compromise of the two desired perceiving experiences. Thecombining of the desired probability distributions may be performed byadding or deleting predetermined values or by adapting a desiredprobability of a predetermined value. For example, all predeterminedvalues from the at least two desired probability distributions may beadded in the combined desired probability distribution, or at least thepredetermined values may be added that have a desired probability whichis larger than a predetermined minimum desired probability. For thedesired probabilities the averages may be calculated in order to obtaina compromise of desired probabilities.

FIG. 4 shows an even further user interface 4 according to an embodimentof the invention. The attributes and values may again be available fromtable 20. The user-interface 4 shows a probability distribution 42having a combination of predetermined values in a single pie-part. Forexample, there is a probability of 20% that a media item is selectedhaving the predetermined values V₁ and V₄, which may correspond,respectively, to the value R&B for the attribute Style and the valueSlow for the attribute Tempo. Other values in the pie-chart 42 may forexample be V₂, which may be the value Dance for the attribute Stylehaving a desired probability of selecting of 50%, and V₆ which may bethe value Jamiroquai for the attribute Artist having a desiredprobability of selecting of 30%. When a media item needs to be selectedthe pie-chart 42 turns like a wheel of fortune in the direction of arrow44. The cursor 46 selects the actual value or actual values forselecting the media item.

FIG. 5 shows a media player 5 according to an embodiment of theinvention. The media player may be a media player suitable for playingat least one of the media items music songs, MP3-files, Compact Discsongs, movies, DVD-tracks, pictures, and JPG-files or other possiblemedia items. The media player 5 may be implemented in hardware but it isalso possible to implement the media player 5 as a software based mediaplayer. The media player comprises a communication channel 50 forobtaining media items which may be a wireless connection, a data bus,the Internet or a storage medium. In case the communication channel 50is a storage medium, the storage medium may be fixed in the system ormay also be a removable disc, a memory stick etc. The communicationchannel 50 may be part of the media player 5, but this is not necessary.The communication channel 50 comprises a plurality of media items andattribute-value pairs that can be linked to the each of the plurality ofmedia items. It may also be possible to store the attribute-value pairsat another communication channel than the communication channel 50. Forexample, the media items may be stored on a medium as a part of themedia player 5 and the attribute-value pairs linked to the media itemsmay be obtained from the Internet. The media player 5 further comprisesa selection system 52, which selection system 52 selects a media itemaccording to an embodiment of the invention. A user-interface may bevisualized in a display 54. The display may be an LCD display, a CRTmonitor, a television or any other display suitable for visualizing auser-interface. The media-player 5 may further comprise an input device56 which may be a keyboard, a computer mouse, a joystick, a touch-screenor any other suitable input device for obtaining an input from the user.The media player 5 may further comprise a media item playing device 58.The media item playing device 58 may be an amplifier and speaker orheadphones for playing songs possibly combined with a TV screen whenplaying video, or a display screen for displaying digital pictures.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustraterather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art willbe able to design many alternative embodiments without departing fromthe scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signsbetween parenthesis shall not be construed as limiting the claim. Theword ‘comprising’ does not exclude the presence of other elements orsteps than those listed in a claim. The invention can be implemented bymeans of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means ofa suitably programmed computer. In a device claim enumerating severalmeans, several of these means can be embodied by one and the same itemof hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutuallydifferent dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of thesemeasures cannot be used to advantage.

1. A method for selecting a media item from a plurality of media items,each of the plurality of media items being linked to at least one of aplurality of content related attribute-value pairs, the methodcomprising: receiving, at a media selecting device, a user input for anattribute of the plurality of attribute-value pairs that sets at leasttwo probabilities of selecting predetermined values of the attribute touser-specified values, resulting in a probability distribution ofselection of values of the attribute; selecting, by the selectingdevice, a selected value of the attribute in accordance with theprobability distribution; and selecting, by the selecting device, themedia item from among a plurality of media items having anattribute-value pair corresponding to the selected value of theattribute, wherein receiving user input to set the at least two valuesof probability includes defining and displaying a pie-chart having atleast two pie-parts corresponding to the at least two predeterminedvalues, the pie-parts having proportions in dependence on the at leasttwo user-specified probabilities.
 2. The method of claim 1, including:receiving user input to define at least two values of probability foranother attribute, resulting in an other probability distribution ofselection of values of the other attribute, and selecting a selectedvalue of the other attribute in accordance with the other probabilitydistribution; wherein selecting the media item includes selecting themedia item from among a plurality of media items having attribute-valuepairs corresponding to the selected values of the two attributes.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, including: receiving user input to define at leasttwo values of probability for an other attribute, resulting in an otherprobability distributions of selection of values of the other attribute;and combining the two probability distributions into a combinedprobability distribution; wherein selecting the selected value of theattribute includes selecting the selected value of the attribute andselecting another selected value of the other attribute in accordancewith the combined probability distribution; and selecting the media itemincludes selecting the media item from among a plurality of media itemshaving attribute-value pairs corresponding to the selected values. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the selected value includes:spinning the pie-chart; slowing down the pie-chart until the pie-chartstops at a random position; selecting the selected value correspondingto a pie-part of the pie-chart in dependence on the position where thepie-chart stopped.
 5. A system for selecting a media item from aplurality of media items, each of the plurality of media items beinglinked to at least one out of a plurality of content relatedattribute-value pairs, the system comprising: means for receiving a userinput for setting, for at least one attribute of the plurality ofattribute-value pairs, values of at least two probabilities of selectingpredetermined values for the at least one attribute to user-specifiedvalues, resulting in a probability distribution of selection of valuesof the attribute; means for selecting an actual value from the at leasttwo predetermined values in accordance with the probabilitydistribution; means for selecting the media item from among a pluralityof media items having an attribute-value pair corresponding to theactual value of the attribute; means for defining a pie-chart having atleast two pie-parts corresponding to the at least two predeterminedvalues, the pie-parts having proportions in dependence on the at leasttwo user-specified probabilities; and means for displaying thepie-chart.
 6. The system of claim 5, the system including: means forspinning the pie-chart; means for slowing down the pie-chart until thepie-chart stops at a random position; and means for selecting the actualvalue corresponding to a pie-part of the pie-chart in dependence on theposition where the pie-chart stopped.
 7. The system of claim 6,including means for selecting a moment in time to start the slowing downof the pie chart.
 8. The system of claim 6, including means foradjusting a speed of the slowing down the pie-chart.
 9. The system ofclaim 6, including means for holding the pie-chart at a current positionfor selecting from among a plurality of media items having anattribute-value pair corresponding to a previous selected actual valueof the attribute.
 10. A system comprising: a communication channel thatis configured to receive a plurality of media items, an input devicethat is configured to facilitate setting values of selection probabilityassociated with members of at least one attribute set associated withthe plurality of media items to user-specified values of a first user, aselector that is configured to select a media item from the plurality ofmedia items based on the defined values of selection probability whereinthe input device is configured to facilitate defining other values ofselection probability by one or more other users, and the selector isconfigured to select the media item based on a composite of the valuesand the other values of selection probability and a display that isconfigured to display a pie-chart corresponding to the selectionprobabilities and selecting by the selector is illustrated via thespinning of the pie-chart.
 11. The system of claim 10, including a mediaplayer that is configured to render the select media item.
 12. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the values of selection probabilitycorrespond to values at a first time, the other values of selectionprobability correspond to values at a second time, and the composite ofthe values is dependent on a selection time relative to the first andsecond times.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein segments of the piechart are sized in proportion to the selection probabilities.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein one or more segments of the pie chartcorrespond to a probability associated with a combination of members ofdifferent attribute sets.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the systemis configured to receive user input to define at least two furthervalues of selection probability associated with the members, resultingin a further selection probability associated with the members definedfor a later moment in time, and the selector is configured to select atleast another media item based on an adapted probability that is betweenthe select probability and the further selection probability.
 16. Thesystem of claim 5, including a media player that is configured to renderthe select media item.
 17. The system of claim 5, including a displaythat is configured to illustrate one or more operations of the selector.18. The system of claim 17, wherein the display is configured to displaya pie-chart corresponding to the selection probabilities, and selectingby the selector is illustrated via a spinning of the pie-chart.